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Spring Break Amalfi coast trip
This year for spring break we headed to Italy to see the Amalfi coast with our good friends, the Lian's. This was to be their last European vacation before moving back to Portland, Oregon after 4.5 years of living in Belgium. Since everyone loves a good struggle story, I’ve included a few details for you.
• Naples: We flew into Naples, which is really just a stop over place to try the best pizza ever. After leaving our bags in a locked storage compartment for 45 euros, we had a taxi drop us off at Pizzeria Michele (the same place where Elizabeth Gilbert raved about in her book Eat, Pray, Love). The wait was 2 hours long so we took our number and then proceeded across the street to a different pizza place. It was truly amazing and then after lunch, we waited a half hour to get pizzas from the famous place which we carried around with us and ate as a snack. Eating pizza is an art form in Naples as it requires a fork and knife.
After our pizza detour, we walked around Naples and were amazed at how much trash, graffiti, and general ickiness is there. We were anxious to get to Sorrento where we stayed for the week. Our car ride was derailed twice thanks to a throwing up Lindsey. Poor girl. Luckily our driver was a total sweetheart and took care of her by stopping for fresh air and water. The next day I bought anti-nausea medicine in anticipation of future car rides and boat trips.
• Sorrento: Our hotel was located walking distance from the town and shops as well as the marina. The view of the Bay of Naples was gorgeous. Easter Sunday we went to an Italian mass at the beautiful local cathedral and marveled at it all. Monday we took a ferry to Capri. The weather was a bit dodgy and the kids weren’t thrilled with the bumps of the ocean. Wanting to see the beauty of Capri from the sea, we took a tour boat around the island. As you’ll see from the pictures it was absolutely gorgeous! Unfortunately, the Blue Grotto was closed as the sea was too rough. And more unfortunately, Nicholas got sick after the boat ride all over the streets of Capri. It was obvious he had strawberries for breakfast. (Total puke count 2 out of 4 Morrison's).
• Cooking class in Sorrento: Tuesday we had arranged a private cooking class for the 7 of us. What fun we had! First, we peeled eggplants, which were cut into strips and then grilled. Next, we made pasta dough that was then cut into strips and we twirled it around sticks to create fusilli pasta. (See pictures of the action shots as well as all of our final products). Next, we made pizza dough which after rising, made individual pizzas with sauce, smoked mozzarella, and parmesan. The grilled eggplant came back, we wrapped it around small chunks of fresh buffalo mozzarella, and then placed it in a pan to be covered in sauce and parmesan. Finally, we made meatballs which were then braised and put into a sauce. For dessert we made individual chocolate molten lava cakes. Everything was divine and we came out of the class with our aprons and an extra 5 pounds!
Unfortunately, when we arrived back to our hotel room we had a small ant infestation. The hotel staff came up and took care of the small critters with an odorless, but powerful insecticide. So powerful that when I came in contact with it, it stung the back of my throat and made me sick. I’m pretty sure all of my cooking went to waste as it all came back up. (Total puke count 3 out of 4 Morrison's).
• Amalfi, Ravello, Positano: Wednesday we took an hour bus ride along a winding, no-guard rail, super narrow road to the city of Amalfi. I sat away from the views and was just fine. Those with window seats along the coast were a bit white knuckled. Luckily, the anti-nausea medicine was working just fine for our two kids. Amalfi is a great tourist town with a beautiful cathedral on the hill. Our friends, the Brodrick's, who were staying in Positano met us at a great local restaurant where we polished off 4 bottles of wine during lunch. Missing the bus up to Ravello by a few minutes, we took a cab to the next town. Ravello has the most gorgeous views of the Bay of Naples. There is a place in town where it’s hard to tell where the sea end and the sky begins. Stunning. After a quick walk around town we headed back to Amalfi to catch the next bus to Positano. This town is supposed to be the jewel of the Amalfi coast. It’s set on the cliff side and is above and below the crazy, winding road. We met the Brodrick's again for dinner but unfortunately didn’t have enough time to tour the city as we had to take the 8:00 pm hour bus ride back to Sorrento.
• Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius, Herculaneum, Solfatara: Thursday we had a guided tour for the places listed above. We started out in Pompeii, which was a good half hour drive from Sorrento, towards Naples. Our guide did a great job bringing alive the history and the past of these places. I cannot even begin to remember all the details but I have placed links to learn more information on the right hand side. The one thing I had to keep reminding myself about was that Pompeii and Herculaneum were both completely underground at one point. Neither city has been fully excavated. Crazy! After our tour of Pompeii, we went to a delicious restaurant that was at the base of Mt. Vesuvius for lunch and wine tasting. The pasta was brought out in a huge bowl, family style. I have never in my life eaten more bread with olive oil, pizza, & pasta in the space of one week. Even the kids were tired of that menu by the week’s end!
Instead of going to the top of Mt. Vesuvius, we went to the Solfatara, which is the site of an inactive volcano that still smokes the sulfur. It stunk to high heaven and is nicknamed the Devil’s Stink! It was pretty cool to see bubbling mud that was roped off because it was too dangerous and yet we could stand on top of the sulfur mounds. Hindsight being 20-20 though, I would have preferred to climb Vesuvius. We did learn there is an active volcano in Sicily, which is currently erupting so maybe we’ll head there one day?!
At the end of the day we had to say good bye to the Lian’s who were on their way to Rome. Naples is only 20 minutes away and yet with the city traffic, we were in the car over an hour. Even our guide fell asleep on Paul’s shoulder in the front seat (luckily, he was not the driver!). In a panic to make the 7:00 pm train to Rome, our driver got the family as close to the train station as he could and everyone hopped out to get luggage, bags, etc. Imagine the city bus that was behind us honking because we were holding up traffic trying to get 4 people with multiple bags across two lanes of traffic, as well as the dozen cars that were behind the city bus who were also honking. It was madness! The tour guide went with the Lian’s to help them get the tickets and we all had the quickest goodbye. It was like ripping off a band-aid. We had enjoyed a lovely week with our friends and then they were off to Portland after their Rome visit. The wound was fresh and someone cried the whole way to Sorrento. Plans are in the works to visit them in Portland this summer, so hopefully this story has a happy ending. :)
